When we believe and accept Jesus – as the only way to our Creator, our Heavenly Father, and as our Savior from the death-sentence of sin, and as the Resurrection and the Life for our promised eternal life – some really big changes take place for us and within us!

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God… – 2 Corinthians 5:17-18

But wait a minute! I’m not entirely new yet. I’m a long way from perfect. There’s still too much of the old me showing up, way too often. However, our God is perfect! And our God is calling, urging and supplying everything that every one of us needs to be conformed and transformed, with ever-increasing glory, into the likeness of God’s Perfect Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, (Romans 12:2; 2 Peter 1:3; Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18).

So what’s our problem? Why are we not letting the big changes take place within us? Why isn’t the old all gone and the new fully here? Well, my take on it, personally, is this: When we do not make full use of, and embrace God’s life-transforming power through all that God has done for us and has put within us – His Spirit and His Word – we leave room for some very ugly, old self patterns of thinking, speaking, acting and interacting to continue taking up residency, and control, within our hearts, minds and souls.

These old patterns are not only characteristics of my old self (Which is supposed to be gone! Darn it!), but these old patterns actually seem to take on a life all their own as very yucky, destructive, bondage-making, life-twisting characters. I call them the Spiritual Dwarfs.

Let me introduce you to just seven of my own Spiritual Dwarfs. They are: Prideful,Fearful,Sinful,Shameful,Whiny,Grumpy, andDopey. Yeah, I’m pretty sure you can picture them! Over the next few days, I’ll let you get to know each one in a little more detail and the truths of God that these Spiritual Dwarfs deny.

You may even recognize a few of these Spiritual Dwarfs from personal experience. They may not live as full-time residents in your own hearts, minds and souls right now. But! You may be allowing these Spiritual Dwarfs, your old self characters, to come by and visit you way too frequently, and stay way too long!

Our Spiritual Dwarfs are not planning to leave politely. Just as Jesus was crucified so that the old self would be gone from within us, our actions need to be just as fierce, focused and with finality as God’s actions are against sin! To live in the fullness and freedom of the new life given to us through the love, sacrifice and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have only one, non-negotiable choice to make: Kill the dwarfs!

The sole resident of our souls is to be the Holy Spirit of our Loving, Mighty and Eternal God! Kill the dwarfs! The old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God!